Opinion: Many states aren’t ready for a 988 crisis line. The deadline is looming
America’s fragile mental health safety net all too often leaves people nowhere to turn but the police when a loved one is in the midst of a behavioral health or suicide crisis. The 988 system, a new alternative to calling 911, could change that, but states are lagging behind in implementing it.
Calling 911 for people having mental health breakdowns has led to deaths that were avoidable, especially among people of color. Between 2015 and 2020, 1 in 4 people who were shot and killed by police had a mental illness; 1 in 3 were people of color.
